MOIRANGTHEM TOMBA SINGH Vs. STATE OF MANIPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) LAW cannot create life but it can promote peace harmony and orderliness in society by discouraging effectively delinquent misadventures which sometime result in loss of life. The goal of penal law is to punish crime to maintain social equilibrium. When it destroys or demotes one life it does so to make living safe and peaceful for thousand others: it does so for 'social defence'. for checking devient behaviour and promoting wholesome social norms. But those who wield the lethal power of law are by law denied a free will and a free voice. Decree they cannot as they please to tinker with precious human lives. Our rules of criminal justice remind the courts of the solemn duty on the one hand to punish a crime and on the other hand to find and punish the real offender so that no innocent life is extinguished or impaired. An accused is entitled to the benefit of doubt - but such doubt on the facts proved in the case must be doubt entertained by not a timid but a rational mind. Equally important is the rule that it is unsafe to convict a person solely on circumstantial evidence especially in a case where he is charged with an offence which exposes him to the extreme penalty. This rule is also qualified. If circumstances proved in the case establish a chain of strong links which dispel effectively any doubt arising in any case due to lack of direct evidence and if the circumstances proved are consistent with the guilt of the accused the court will be failing in its duty if it hesitates to visit the offender with the penalty prescribed by law. These beacons have charted our course so we move on to the facts of the case in hand.

(2.) THIS appeal is from jail but before us in this Court Mr. Y. Imo Singh, the learned Counsel has argued the case of the appellant with clarity and precision highlighting the salient aspects. With his assistance which was augmented by the learned Public Prosecutor we endeavoured to consider all aspects of the case in detail by subjecting the evidence adduced by the prosecution to minute scrutiny.

(3.) THE Officer -in -charge of the police Station who recorded the FIR saw some blood stains on the trousers worn by the appellant which he seized and he put him under arrest. After keeping him in the lockup the police officer proceeded to the place of occurrence which was only 1 K.M. away. There he found the dead body of Ibochoubi lying in a Pool of blood. He held inquest on the dead body and also prepared the site plan. He also seized a bed cover which was stained with blood. He brought the dead body to the police station from where it was sent for Postmortem examination. Then he took out the appellant from the lockup and asked him to lead him to the place where the dao was thrown away by him. The dao was recovered from the canal and duly seized. During the course of investigation, one small girl Premlata aged about 5 years whom he had found on the spot with some injuries was got examined by a doctor. The trousers and the bed -cover seized by him were sent for examination to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Calcutta. On 26 -6 -75 the statement of Kondumba Singh. appellant's brother, was recorded by the Judicial Magistrate. 1st Class. Imphal East. under Section 164. Cr. P. C. On completion of the investigation the appellant was charge sheeted to stand his trial under Section 302. I.P.C.